A fresh study shows that tourism brought the southern region of Uusimaa more than two billion euros last year—more than four times as much tourism revenue as world-renowned destination Lapland pulled in. The report found that some tourists stick to the main central attractions because they lack information about Helsinki’s outer reaches.
Tourism is a billion-euro business in the country’s most populous region, Uusimaa. A new study from Haaga Helia university of applied sciences crunched the numbers, and found that each year the region sees some 16 million day trips and 22 million overnight stays.
Domestic travellers constitute the biggest single group, but Russians spent the most money.
“Income comes mainly from accommodation and catering operations, retailers and then smaller sectors such as artistic enterprises,” says project co-ordinator Mirva Lopez.
The amounts soon add up, and Uusimaa sees four times as much tourist cash as the world-renowned winter sports and nature holiday destination of Finnish Lapland. Tarja Koistinen of the Helsinki-Uusimaa regional council says that there’s no time for complacency.
“The product should be exactly as marketed,” says Koistinen. “The quality has to be right as the modern traveller is demanding. There is so much competition, even in Uusimaa.”
Small things have a big effect on tourist behaviour. Many travellers like Helsinki, but don’t get to see that much of it.
“Cruise passengers wander round the market square because they don’t know where to go,” says Haaga Helia researcher Andrew Hallott. “There could be more signs in central Helsinki. Public transport can also be difficult as often it just says the name of the stop, rather than, for example, that Tikkurila is for (science museum) Heureka, for example.”
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